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Webster 1913 Edition

Ask

Ask

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Asked
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Asking
.]
[OE.
asken
,
ashen
,
axien
, AS.
āscian
,
ācsian
; akin to OS.
ēscōn
, OHG.
eiscōn
, Sw.
āska
, Dan.
æske
, D.
eischen
, G.
heischen
, Lith.
jëskóti
, OSlav.
iskati
to seek, Skr.
ish
to desire. √5.]
1.
To request; to seek to obtain by words; to petition; to solicit; – often with of, in the sense of from, before the person addressed.
Ask
counsel, we pray thee, of God.
Judg. xviii. 5.
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall
ask
what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
John xv. 7.
2.
To require, demand, claim, or expect, whether by way of remuneration or return, or as a matter of necessity; as, what price do you ask?
Ask
me never so much dowry.
Gen. xxxiv. 12.
To whom men have committed much, of him they will
ask
the more.
Luke xii. 48.
An exigence of state
asks
a much longer time to conduct a design to maturity.
Addison.
3.
To interrogate or inquire of or concerning; to put a question to or about; to question.
He is of age;
ask
him: he shall speak for himself.
John ix. 21.
He
asked
the way to Chester.
Shakespeare
4.
To invite;
as, to
ask
one to an entertainment
.
5.
To publish in church for marriage; – said of both the banns and the persons.
Fuller.
Syn. – To beg; request; seek; petition; solicit; entreat; beseech; implore; crave; require; demand; claim; exhibit; inquire; interrogate. See
Beg
.

Ask

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To request or petition; – usually followed by for;
as, to
ask for
bread
.
Ask
, and it shall be given you.
Matt. vii. 7.
2.
To make inquiry, or seek by request; – sometimes followed by after.
Wherefore . . . dost
ask
after my name?
Gen. xxxii. 29.

Ask

,
Noun.
[See 2d
Asker
.]
(Zool.)
A water newt.
[Scot. & North of Eng.]

Webster 1828 Edition

Ask

'ASK

,
Verb.
T.
[Gr. In former times, the English word was pronounced ax, as in the royal style of assenting to bills in Parliament. 'Be it as it is axed.']
1.
To request; to seek to obtain by words; to petition; with of before the person to whom the request is made.
Ask counsel of God. Judges 18.
2.
To require, expect or claim.
To whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. Luke 12.
3.
To interrogate, or inquire; to put a question, with a view to an answer.
He is of age, ask him. John 9.
4.
To require, or make claim.
Ask me never so much dowry. Gen. 34. Dan. 2.
5.
To claim, require or demand, as the price or value of a commodity; to set a price; as, what price do you ask?
6.
To require, as physically necessary.
The exigence of a state asks a much longer time to conduct the design to maturity.
This sense is nearly or entirely obsolete; ask being superseded by require and demand.
7.
To invite; as, to ask guests to a wedding or entertainment; ask my friend to step into the house.

'ASK

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To request or petition, followed by for; as, ask for bread; or without for.
Ask and it shall be given you. Mat. 7.
2.
to inquire, or seek by request; sometimes followed by after.
Wherefore dost thou ask after my name? Gen. 32.
This verb can hardly be considered as strictly intransitive, for some person or object is always understood.
Ask is not equivalent to demand, claim, and require, at least, in modern usage; much less, is it equivalent to beg and beseech. The first three words, demand, claim, require, imply a right or supposed right in the person asking, to the thing requested; and beseech implies more urgency, than ask. Ask and request imply no right, but suppose the thing desired to be a favor. The French demander is correctly rendered by ask, rather than by deman.

Definition 2024

Ask

Ask

See also: ask, ASK, and aşk

English

Proper noun

Ask

  1. (Norse mythology) The first male human, according to the Poetic Edda.

Anagrams

Swedish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse Askr, from askr ‎(“ash tree”).

Proper noun

Ask

  1. (Norse mythology) Ask.

Etymology 2

From ask ‎(“ash tree”).

Proper noun

Ask

  1. A topographic surname​.

ask

ask

See also: Ask, ASK, and aşk

English

Alternative forms

Verb

ask ‎(third-person singular simple present asks, present participle asking, simple past and past participle asked)

  1. To request (information, or an answer to a question).
    I asked her age.
  2. To put forward (a question) to be answered.
    to ask a question
  3. To interrogate or enquire of (a person).
    I'm going to ask this lady for directions.
    • Bible, John ix. 21
      He is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.
  4. To request or petition; usually with for.
    to ask for a second helping at dinner
    to ask for help with homework
    • Bible, Matthew vii. 7
      Ask, and it shall be given you.
  5. To request permission to do something.
    She asked to see the doctor.
    Did you ask to use the car?
  6. To require, demand, claim, or expect, whether by way of remuneration or return, or as a matter of necessity.
    What price are you asking for the house?
    • Addison
      An exigence of state asks a much longer time to conduct a design to maturity.
  7. To invite.
    Don't ask them to the wedding.
  8. To publish in church for marriage; said of both the banns and the persons.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Fuller to this entry?)
  9. (figuratively) To take (a person's situation) as an example.
    • 1990 April 26, Paul Wiseman, “Dark days”, in USA Today:
      Even when the damage isn't that clear cut, the intangible burdens of a bad image can add up. Just ask Dow Chemical.
Usage notes
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Translations

Noun

ask ‎(plural asks)

  1. An act or instance of asking.
    • 2005, Laura Fredricks, The ask:
      To ask for a gift is a privilege, a wonderful expression of commitment to and ownership of the organization. Getting a yes to an ask can be a rush, but asking for the gift can and should be just as rewarding.
  2. Something asked or asked for; a request.
    • 2008, Doug Fields, Duffy Robbins, Speaking to Teenagers:
      Communication researchers call this the foot-in-the-door syndrome. Essentially it's based on the observation that people who respond positively to a small “ask” are more likely to respond to a bigger “ask” later on.
  3. An asking price.

Etymology 2

From Middle English aske, arske, from Old English āþexe ‎(“lizard, newt”), from Proto-Germanic *agiþahsijǭ ‎(“lizard”), from Proto-Germanic *agiz ‎(“snake, lizard”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ógʷʰis ‎(“snake, lizard”)) + Proto-Germanic *þahsuz ‎(“badger”) (from Proto-Indo-European *teḱs- ‎(“to hew, trim”)). Cognate with Scots ask, awsk, esk ‎(“an eft or newt”), Dutch hagedis ‎(“lizard”), German Echse, Eidechse ‎(“lizard”).

Alternative forms

Noun

ask ‎(plural asks)

  1. (Britain dialectal and Scotland) An eft; newt.
    • 1876, S. Smiles, Scottish Naturalist:
      He looked at the beast. It was not an eel. It was very like an ask.
  2. (Britain dialectal) A lizard.

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: earth · live · hard · #408: ask · question · doubt · around

Anagrams

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse askr, from Proto-Germanic, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃és-no-, *h₃és-i- ‎(“ash”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ask/

Noun

ask c (singular definite asken, plural indefinite aske)

  1. common ash (tree, Fraxinus excelsior)

Declension

References

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse askr, from Proto-Germanic *askaz, *askiz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ōs- ‎(“ash”).

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ask/

Noun

ask f (genitive singular askar, plural askir)

  1. ash tree
  2. ash wood

Declension

Declension of ask
f2 singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative ask askin askir askirnar
accusative ask askina askir askirnar
dative ask askini askum askunum
genitive askar askarinnar aska askanna

Icelandic

Noun

ask

  1. indefinite accusative singular of askur

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse askr.

Noun

ask m ‎(definite singular asken, indefinite plural asker, definite plural askene)

  1. the European ash (ash tree) Fraxinus excelsior

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse askr.

Noun

ask m ‎(definite singular asken, indefinite plural askar, definite plural askane)

  1. the European ash (ash tree) Fraxinus excelsior

References

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *askaz, *askiz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ōs- ‎(“ash”). Cognate with Old English æsc, Dutch es, Old High German asc (whence German Esche), Old Norse askr (whence Swedish ask). The Indo-European root, in various forms, is also the source of Ancient Greek οξύα ‎(oxúa, “beech, spear-shaft”), Latin ornus, Russian я́сень ‎(jásenʹ, “ash”), Lithuanian úosis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɑs̺k/

Noun

ask m

  1. ash tree
  2. spear

Declension

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish asker, from Old Norse askr, from Proto-Germanic *askaz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ōs- ‎(“ash”).

Pronunciation

Noun

ask c

  1. the European ash (tree) Fraxinus excelsior
  2. a small box

Declension

Inflection of ask 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative ask asken askar askarna
Genitive asks askens askars askarnas

Etymology

From Middle English asken, from Old English āxian, āscian ‎(“to ask, inquire, seek for, demand, call, summon, examine, observe”), from Proto-Germanic *aiskōną ‎(“to ask, ask for”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eys-. Cognate with Scots ask ‎(“to question, ask, demand, require”), Saterland Frisian aaskje ‎(“to demand, dictate, mandate, exact”), West Frisian easkje ‎(“to require, postulate, demand”), Dutch eisen ‎(“to demand, require”), German heischen ‎(“to demand”), Danish æske ‎(“to provoke”), Swedish äska ‎(“to demand”), Russian иска́ть ‎(iskátʹ, “to seek, look for”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK)
  • (US)
    • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈæsk/
    • (NYC, Philadelphia) IPA(key): /eəsk/
    • (AAVE, Cajun) enPR: ăks, IPA(key): /ˈæks/
  • Rhymes: -ɑːsk, -æsk
  • Homophones: ax, axe (some dialects)

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